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Gluten Free Child

Do you need some information about travelling gluten free in Europe? I found the Coeliac Youth of Europe site, which although intended for young people (under 30), contains information that might be useful to all. You can find links to coeliac societies from many countries – not just European ones – and information about eating gluten free in different countries.

It’s too late to register for their summer camp this year, but it looks like they run a camp each year in a different country – this year it will be in Sweden. There are pictures of previous camps, in several different countries – looks like fun, and a good way to see something of a country without worries about finding gluten free food. The camps are for over 18s – but it might be something to think about in a few years, when our coeliac daughter is a bit bigger.

Are you sending a child off on a school residential course or other camp this summer? Are you worried about keeping them gluten free?

This question came up again on the message-board this morning, and it prompted the following questions in my mind:

how sensitive is your child to cross-contamination?

Some people seem to be more sensitive to this than others, and it is something to bear in mind when planning the trip. Obviously you will be alerting the carers to cross-contamination issues, but they do need to understand the importance of this.

how far away are they going? Could you easily rescue him or her if they fell ill?

Clearly any child could fall ill on a trip, but it has to be said that those with chronic conditions that are vulnerable to the environment are more likely to have a problem – including asthmatics and diabetics. It is no fun to be ill away from home, particularly if there is the ongoing risk of further problems because the caterers haven’t properly understood the issues.

how long are they going for?

You might be able to send foodstuff for two or three days, but if it is longer then you will almost certainly be relying on others to prepare and cook meals for your child.

is it literally camping, or is it somewhere with trained caterers?

In theory, trained caterers should be aware of the issues, but this isn’t always the case. Check!

If it is camping, there will be constraints over availability of preparation space, cooking utensils etc, and possibly an increased risk of contamination as a result.

is it a destination where just your child’s group will be present, or will there be other groups there too?

Going to a location where just your child’s group will be there offers a better chance for control of the environment than if they are going to a large mixed venue. On the other hand, if it is a big place, used to catering for lots of people, they are more likely to have come across the need for a gluten-free diet before.

how much responsibility does your child take for their own diet?

It can be difficult for a child to say to a relatively strange adult ‘I can’t eat that’ or ‘don’t use that spoon to serve my meal’ – but this is an important skill that they will have to learn if they are to control their own diet in the future.

does your child know what they can or can’t eat?

Again, this is something that they will have to learn for the future, and part of the point of this kind of away-trip is to increase independence in the children. This is why I think these trips are so important – and it’s amazing to see how different your child seems on their return.

is your child likely to swop food with his or her friends?

Well, do they do this at the moment? Dreadful thought …

Or are they likely to succumb to peer-pressure and have what everyone else is eating?

Children vary in how they react to peer-pressure. Problem is, if they do eat what everyone else eats and don’t react, they may think it is OK to do this more often. And, of course, it reduces the importance of a strict gluten free diet in the eyes of those around them, too.

How supportive of your child’s diet are the other children in the group?

If your child has been gluten free for a while, and they are going with their school, it is likely that the others in the group will have accepted that your child eats differently. But in a group of children your child doesn’t know, the other children will want to know why your child isn’t eating X Y or Z. Does your child know how to explain? How will they react to any teasing?

how much trust do you place in the carers?

You will be able to assess this better if you speak to them and discuss the issues. Some people are more knowledgeable than others about gluten-free issues; some people are more open to learning than others. Ask yourself – does school/Brownies/whoever cope with the gluten free diet at the moment?

do you want to send food with your child?

There may be practical difficulty with this – as well as financial. Usually, I have found, you don’t get a discount for food that your child doesn’t eat!

how integrated do you want your child to be with the other children?

Eating a completely different meal because you sent food, rather than a slightly modified meal prepared on site, may simply make your child seem even more ‘different’

have you discussed the menu plan with the carers?

If not, then you should. Even if you trust them, going through every meal with them will help emphasize the importance of the detail. Remind them that snacks and sweets can be dangerous too …

do the carers know what symptoms to look out for?

Not all celiacs react the same way. If you make sure that the carers – and your child – know how to recognise a gluten episode in your child, then your child is likely to get care quicker. And if your child is likely to vomit at the table (as some do) it might just help focus their minds!

I’ve now sent my daughter away four times (Brownie camp, two separate weeks holiday with ATE, and a school residential) and we have another week with ATE and two more school residentials coming up this year.

On each occasion, I have discussed things carefully with the teachers and/or caterers at the destination. I send her with a box of GF items (bread, buns, cake, breakfast cereal, biscuits, pasta, pizza base, flour) based on the menu plans, but not with pre-prepared meals. Part of the worry with pre-prepared meals is how they would travel or keep! Perhaps you could send known and trusted brands of non-perishables as an emergency supply (such as a tin of beans, snack meals).

I believe strongly that this kind of trip – without the support of family – is an important step in raising an independent adult. Your child will probably have a wonderful time, and their meals should not be the main focus of the trip – the trip should be the focus.

And if there are mistakes – unpleasant as they might be – your child will learn from that too.

If only we weren’t based in the UK … I have vivid memories of doing summer camp in New Hampshire for a few years when I was younger (a lot younger! we’re talking over 35 years ago, when Windsor Mountain was called Interlocken). I remember hiding with a book in the woods at rest time – the smell of hot pine trees and the prickle of the needles …

My British children are now big enough to go away alone – here in the UK – to the same sort of thing, though we don’t have any gluten free options, and they only go for a week at a time. Two years ago just one went to a castle in Northumberland; last year I sent two together to an Arts week in a manor house in Norfolk; this year it will be two again – but a different two! – one to Spy School in Lincolnshire, and one to Norfolk. On each occasion a box of gluten free foods will go with my coeliac camper – after several calls to the camp directors to check it all out!

This camp will be based in Livermore California, from August 20-23, and is sponsored by Celiac Disease Foundation, Team GlutenFreeT,Celiac Sprue Research Foundation and Taylor Family Foundation. Check it out – it’s free!

Fabulous – fun activities and no worries about the catering. There are other camps too … Why not contact them now?

Having been entertained by the idea of the Alphabet Eating Challenge, which I came across at Playlibrary, I thought I’d see if I could create a gluten free alphabet. Not that I’m going to eat them all at the same time.

We often play A-Z in the car – the idea is that you pick a category and then take it in turns to name an item in that category, going through the alphabet. We often use foods as a category – though we haven’t identified a proper X either!

So – food that is naturally gluten free …

A – apples, of course, and almonds, avocado and amaranth (either as a grain or as a flour)

Although I’ve been feeling quite proud of myself for the enjoyment my children take in cooking, I was surprised to learn from a group of my friends last week that I’m falling behind on training the children for life – otherwise known as getting them to share the chores. I was astonished to learn that one 9 year old of my acquaintance does the ironing and another has been known to clean the toilets (!). I’ve obviously been slacking … or rather I haven’t, and I need to practise my delegation skills.

I discussed this with my children, and – predictably – the eldest girl wrote out a chart with chores assigned by individual, the middle one (a girl) pretended the conversation never happened and stuck her head in a book, and the youngest (a boy) declared he wasn’t prepared to do anything at all, ever. I think I’ve got some work to do to turn this around.

After this episode, I was pleased to come across Tracy at momsniche who has suggestions for what each age-group should be able to do to help around the house. I wish I’d seen this years ago!

I haven’t seen any of these books (though the Green Eggs and Ham Cookbook looks good), so these comments aren’t aimed at these three, but I find that cookbooks designed for children tend to make cakes shaped like hedgehogs, or pizza with a smiley face, rather than real food. I haven’t yet seen a cookery book designed for a vegetarian coeliac chef who happens to be under 12. (Hey, gap in the market! Note to self: must go and write book …).

As previously mentioned, all my children like to cook, whether coeliac or not. The book my coeliac daughter most often chooses to cook from is Totally Flour-Free Baking(aff), by Dinah Alison. This book avoids the use of flour (gluten free or not) by using ground almonds. I find that this makes everything taste very similar and rather sweet, but my daughter loves the recipes, and I’ve taken to buying ground almonds in bulk. The recipe book is aimed at adults, and is very clearly written. In addition, Dinah has included a photo of the finished dish for every recipe. This, in my view, is a very important element of a recipe book. In our house at least, if there’s no picture of what you’ll end up with, the chances are the recipe won’t be chosen.

In our very popular books, the pictures are covered in sticky guck. That’s a good recommendation too …